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As you may know, the AAA is a member of the newly-launched AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition. The Coalition is a network of scientific membership organizations that recognize that science and scientists of all disciplines have vital contributions to make to the realization of human rights. The AAA invites its members, particularly those in the Washington, DC area, to the upcoming meeting of the Coalition on July 23-24, 2009 that will be held at AAAS headquarters in Washington, DC.

The meeting will open with a special event honoring Dr. Richard Pierre Claude [pdf], a science and human rights pioneer who through his scholarship, teaching and writing has dedicated his career to integrating human rights with the practice of public health and the social and physical sciences. Inspired by Albert Einstein and others, Claude believes that the education of young scientists and health professionals must be bound by a social contract that safeguards their freedom to travel, associate, and communicate freely, but asks in return that they do no harm and direct their talents toward caring for all human beings and the earth we inhabit. Claude developed this thesis in his award-winning book, Science in the Service of Human Rights. A Professor Emeritus of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park, Claude is founding editor of Human Rights Quarterly, published by John Hopkins Press and now in its 25th year. This special event and a reception will be held on Thursday, July 23 from 5:30-7:30 pm.

The Coalition meeting will then continue on Friday, July 24from 8:30-5:30 pm and provide you with the opportunity to attend information sessions, participate in working group meetings, and discuss human rights issues central to the mission of the Coalition.